Automotive

Are you tired of asking yourself who can you trust when your car needs fixing or wondering how much the repairs will cost you? Finding an auto body shop that will repair your car flawlessly at the lowest possible cost is the dream of any car owner. Here are a few tips anyone can resort to in the quest of choosing the most suitable car repair quote:

Ask your friends and relatives for a referral on a mechanic they worked with and they were content with the work he delivered.

Perform an Internet search for a repair shop in your area that has many positive online reviews. But don’t be fooled by false publicity and paid ratings. Search for those shops that have ratings with individualized details and other signs of authenticity. Some of the more serious businesses even answer to online reviews, you can make an opinion on them based on those answers as well.

Get informed on the specificities of your car, as to not having your hand forced to pay for unnecessary operations that only inflate the quote and aren’t related to the issue at hand.

Overcharges are best avoided when you choose to go to several auto body shops and gather repair quotes. However, the best quote isn’t always the cheapest one. You shouldn’t overlook the quality of work that will be delivered. Most of the time, when a price is much lower than the other, it means the mechanic will skip a step or two in the repairing process, and that will definitely cause you problems further in time.

Inform yourself by asking the right questions when you are delivered the repair quote: Will you be provided a written warranty? If so, what does it cover and how long is it valid for? Quality job performers give a minimum of one year warranty, and most increase that amount even more. Be cautious though, as some involve a series of conditions in the warranty requirements which make it very restrictive and therefore useless.

Make sure the shop you entrust your car to has a valid business license and a fire and theft insurance as well. You wouldn’t want to pay the price if your car got burglarized, destroyed or stolen while in the care of the auto body shop.

Before placing your car in the care of any shop, inform yourself on the quality of materials they will use for the repair. Do they intend to use new, used or aftermarket parts? How many coats of paint and clear coat will be used when paint work is involved? etc.

There are numerous factors one can take into consideration when choosing a car repair quote. One of the most important ones is, without any shred of doubt, your own intuition:

- If the shop is not busy, former customers might not have been satisfied and they avoid it;

- The type of work a shop delivers might be reflected by the tidiness of the environment the mechanics works in;

- Is the owner communicative or straightforward with the customers or does he resent answering questions?

When you are looking for the right car repair quote, you are in fact looking for a shop that knows how to treat customers right. For your car and peace of mind, take your time and choose wisely.

The world is a global village, and many know that it is prudent to buy some things in other provinces or across the border. This is doubly true with cars, and the numbers pretty much speak for themselves. The savings you can generate by shipping a car to Manitoba from the States or another province in Canada can be counted in thousands of dollars. Read this article »

So you finally decided to let go of your car and put it up for sale. Either you want an upgrade to something newer or get a bigger or more fuel-efficient vehicle.

In this article we will review the steps that lead to a sale that`s both quick and successful.

Selling to a dealership will save you some time and effort, but it will also come at a price – it is never going to pay you as much as a private buyer. So naturally you decide to advertise via an online ad or local newspaper. Read this article »

For many of us, our first car is our parents’ car – the dream limousine we could not wait to sit into and drive away. If you are in this situation, then after passing the driving test, there is nothing left for you to do but to try and get used to what you have. But what if you have an opportunity to get your own car? In this article, we will go through a couple of things you need to bear in mind when choosing the vehicle which will best suit your needs as a beginner driver. Read this article »

Alternative energy sources should, according to many vocal experts, be one of the main points of concern for the humanity in the 21st century. Some visionaries heard and understood this very well, which is why there is a number of large scale projects in the world today, dedicated to finding the best way to leave behind the ‘dirty energy’. In the car industry, which has long been dominated by oil lobbies, we are finally witnessing the upsurge in interest for electric cars. But, given their obvious shortcomings, can electric cars go full mainstream? Scientists are actively searching for the answer to that and car tyres might just be a part of the solution. Read this article »

To a layman driver, which is the title that can be awarded to pretty much 95% of the drivers, a tyre is a rubber thing that is put on a wheel in order to minimize the impact of the road imperfections. However, although this definition applies to the tires of old, today’s modern tire is anything but simple. As a matter of fact, tires usually consist from 20 to 25 different components – they are as complex as it gets, and this means that in order to choose the right one for your car, you need to pick carefully. Here are a couple of tips which might help you become better informed and make up your mind.Read this article »

Visiting remote places and crossing difficult landscapes used to be a privilege of brave explorers who were ready to sacrifice everything up to their lives in order to witness the beauty of undiscovered parts of our planet. Nowadays, with the help of technology, it is easier than ever to walk (actually drive) their footsteps and enjoy everything that nature has to offer. All you need is a bit of adventuristic spirit and a good 4×4 car and you are ready to go. This is not to say you can’t make things even better. In this article, we will go through a couple of important additions to your four wheel drive which can significantly improve your experience and make it even more enjoyable.

Gas prices have been steadily going up since the 70’s, and it doesn’t seem like they’re going to be going down anytime soon. Peaking at an average Dollar 26 per liter within the past 3 months going by, it’s not exactly cheap anymore either. The best way to lower that price these days is to save gas with your car. If you have a car from 2003 or newer, your car is already saving money with gas prices because all cars these days are fuel injection. However, there are additional ways to save on gas with the car you currently own no matter the model.

Transmission fluid plays a vital role in a car, where it acts as both a lubricating fluid and a cooling medium. It also helps in transmitting the mechanical power produced into motion. It is important to have this fluid changed regularly, and the specified distance coverage will vary from one vehicle to another. This usually ranges between 30,000 and 60,000 miles.Read this article »

After an accident, however minor, you will need to assess the damages to your car on the spot, and this can be followed by a professional check up at your auto repair shop. Generally, the possible damages will depend on various accident scenarios including: head on, rear end, roll-over and right angle collisions, among others. Here is a list of things to be done after such a collision.Read this article »